A Family Affair
by altered phoenix light
Summary: When Andromeda learns of Ted's death, her past comes crashing through the carefully placed façade that she has tried to hide under all these years. Love is stronger than hate and acceptance better than prejudice. One-shot. Canon timeline slightly altered


I'm back! Did ya'll miss me? Well, sorry, my writers' block returned in a bad way (Chapter 5 of Take My Hand is rather stuck, any suggestions would be more than helpful, PM me with your ideas) and all my teachers despise me because they've suddenly slammed me with more homework and papers than I'd like to think. Anyway, this story is about Andromeda and how her past and blood finally catch up with her.

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Now sic your lawyers on someone else.

Read and enjoy…

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A Family Affair

The sleet pounded against the darkened window, bringing very little cheer to Andromeda's heart. It was as if a blizzard had surrounded her, and she was lost in the swirling and bitter cold of it all. She wanted to cry out, but her heart stayed locked in her chest as she sat in his favorite chair. He had saved her life and now he was gone from it, torn away by the prejudices and hatred of others. Molly Weasley had brought her the news of his death. That woman was a blessing, Andromeda mused, and she could hardly bring herself to recognize that out of her pain. Molly had stayed to offer what comfort she could, then left to tend to her own family.

Ted had saved her. He had changed her heart. Though it had been Black as all get-out, he had shown her how beautiful the light shone, how warm the sun could be, how sweet love and tenderness was. Ted had always cared for her, cared for her in a way no one else ever had.

His smile was what had drawn her to him. He was always smiling, and his smile had been so perfect and white and pearly that she had never been able to resist it. He had always managed to put a smile on her face, too. They had first met on the Hogwarts Express when they were eleven. Her sister had tried to drag her off into another compartment, but stubborn and independent as she was, she would have none of it. He and a few other kids were having a seemingly good time in the compartment where she wanted to sit. So she sat with them, and in the course of the train ride, they all became friends. When they arrived at Hogwarts, all five were sorted into Gryffindor: Andromeda Black, Ted Tonks, Dennis Ronalds, Lexi Polk, and Elizabeth Starr.

They all became great friends, but Ted had always been her best friend. He had always been the shoulder that took her tears, and she could tell him anything and everything about her life at home. She had confided to him alone the stories of her abuse and mistreatment, of abandonment, of hurt and heartache and pain. He had listened…and he had loved. As soon as they had graduated from Hogwarts, they eloped. A year later, Nymphadora was born. She had truly been the greatest thing to ever happen to them.

Now, it was all over. Ted was gone, and by all reports, it looked as if Andromeda's own flesh and blood had killed him. Bella…no, no longer Bella; she was no longer worthy of the nickname that Andromeda gave her long ago. 'Bella' meant beautiful, which Bellatrix had certainly been, once upon a time. Bella had not been a cold-blooded murderer when Andromeda had given her the nickname. She had been the beautiful sister that everyone liked because of her loyalty, love, and courage. She had been a very loyal and loving friend.

Andromeda shuddered. How had Bellatrix fallen so far? Was it because she was never as strong as she had appeared to be and that something had cracked or broken within her? Was it because of her love for Rodolphus that she changed?

She never wanted to think about the 'love' she had received from her family growing up. Father had always sworn he would beat the love of Muggles out of all of them, and on several occasions when they were younger, he had tried. Andromeda alone was the one with the courage to stand up, to be her own person with her own ideas and beliefs. When she got to Hogwarts age, she completely rebelled against her family. She wore Muggle clothes and pasted pictures of Muggle movie stars on her walls. She began to listen to Muggle music and talk like a Muggle. She had been beaten more times than she could bear to think of or count, and Ted was the only one she ever talked to about the beatings.

Of course, Narcissa and Bellatrix had known about the beatings. After awhile, Bellatrix made her life hell at school, though Andromeda wondered if it was under her parents' orders that she did so. Cissy never did anything like that. She went along with the flow and tried to blend in, and when Lucius Malfoy wooed her, that was the end of sweet little Cissy. Sometimes, when she had the chance, she and Narcissa exchanged letters; although she could tell that Narcissa's letters were timid and rushed, they were still somewhat tender, and that was why Narcissa was still Cissy in Andromeda's mind.

Yes, Cissy had always had the heart of compassion but never the will to defy anyone. Bellatrix was the opposite: the one who had finally defied all conscience because she never had a sense of morals or decency. Andromeda knew that she herself was the balance between the two: the loving heart and the defiance needed to stand up for the right thing.

She had no idea why she was thinking of her old family tonight of all nights. She should have been thinking of Nymphadora and little Teddy Remus, her true family, her real flesh and blood. Her sisters were as far off as a dream, and so much less reachable.

Andromeda glanced at the clock. It was late, yes, very late. She should go up to bed. But a noise on the stairs stopped her.

"Mum?" It was Nymphadora. Her face was redder than usual, and her hair had returned to the mousy color that she had originally inherited from her parents. "I heard what Molly told you. Are you…okay?"

A single tear dripped down Andromeda's cheek and she sniffled. "Sweetie, I never thought something like this would happen. Sister against sister…we loved one another once. We were family."

Sadness clouded Nymphadora's normally bright and sparkling eyes. "Do you still love your sisters, Mum? After all that they've done?" She put her arm around her mother's shoulders.

"How can I not?" was Andromeda's simple reply. "I remember the days when we were practically triplets in mindset. We all supported one another, through Father's treatment of us, through our beatings, through our pain. Then Bellatrix went off to Hogwarts and it all changed. And it would never be the same again. They were my sisters, and as opposite as we were, we loved one another. Narcissa…Cissy and I were so close. Bella was the natural-born leader, but I was the defiant one. I didn't always like her leadership." She sighed. "Some bonds go too deep to sever. I wish that we could have stayed friends and sisters for a lifetime. I wish I could go back to the time when I was young and they loved me."

The tears began to flow freely for both women. They shared their pain together, locked together, mother and daughter, for a long time. The sleet had stopped outside and darkness reigned. A small cry from upstairs broke their embrace.

"It's Teddy," Nymphadora stated, standing up.

"Go, he needs his mother." Andromeda stayed put in Ted's favorite chair. She could not cry anymore. She had to keep going, but was uncertain of how to do so.

A tapping noise jolted her from her brooding. She looked to the window and saw a large and familiar eagle owl, damp and ruffled from the weather. It had a letter clutched in its beak. As if in a dream, she got up, unlatched the window, and took the letter.

The handwriting on the dampened envelope was elegant, if a bit runny. She recognized it almost immediately as Narcissa's handwriting.

_

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Dear Andy,_

_My deepest condolences. When I found out what Bella had done…I had to owl you. Hang the consequences of what I'm doing, I had to tell you that I'm so sorry this happened._

_She's gone mad, Andy…she and everyone else! I don't know how I got into this mess. I don't know what Draco's being forced to do, Lucius is powerless, and I don't have the courage to stand up to anyone or anything. Especially Bella. You know that. I've never been strong enough to stand up to her. She's always had that power over me. I wish I could be strong like you were._

_I'm more afraid than I've ever been before, Andy. Afraid to lose what I still hold. I don't know what to think or to do; I've always just had it shoved down my throat. 'This is how you're supposed to act, this is what purebloods do!'_

_I can't do it anymore. I'll say this once and for all, and maybe this will begin to make me brave. I've always missed you. I've always loved you; I could never sever that bond. If hating you and your family is what makes me pureblood, then I don't want to be like this anymore. You'll always be my big sister, my protector. My Andy._

_I hope this letter brings you a little comfort. I can't imagine what you are going through, but I have this feeling that things will change soon and that they will change for the better. Darkness can't trump the light forever. There's always dawn after dusk, even if the night seems endless. Love always conquers. I just wish I had seen this sooner and done the right thing rather than what was easy. I wish I had the courage then to do what I need to do now._

_Hoping to see you when the world is better and when white has won over Black._

_Cissy_

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Andromeda smiled through her tears as the first hints of dawn crept through the window. Love really is a two way street, she mused, and I guess we just crossed it together. So her sister had finally found her inner courage, the courage that was always hiding beneath the surface, bubbling but never bursting to the surface. I love you, little sister.

And I always will.

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A/N: Well, I have a bit of a confession to make…I didn't want to write this but it wouldn't leave me alone so I had to. My explanation of the characters--I wanted to make Narcissa seem more human and have Andromeda be very conflicted. I think J.K. made Narcissa the most ambiguous of the sisters. In my mind, Narcissa was the sister who could have gone either way, good or bad, and in the end makes her true choice. And I wanted to get across the feeling that two of the three Black sisters wish that their lives and the lives of those they love could have gone a little differently. 

It would make me feel more confident if I got a few reviews. Please drop me a line and let me know what you thought of this!


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